I wonder if anyone could recommend a lightweight and compact digital camera - something I can keep in my coat pocket for those moments when you see something you simply must take a photo while out walking.  I know very little about digital photography and the camera I have is 4 years old and a bit bulky.  I prefer to look through a view finder than relying on the digital 2.5 screen, my budget is around £130

any advice gratefully received, Cheers, Rose

Hey Rose...

Just selling a Sony DSC-P10 on eBay... Probably as old & bulky as yours but you'd save yourself about £100

 Seriously... Despite being a Nikon person myself I would go for something like the Canon Powershot A series.  Not necessarily the top of the range either, something around 6mp so I 'think' the A630 would be the one.

 Be wary of anything boasting 10mp in a compact, the pixels are so tiny that noise can be an issue and unless you are printing at around A3 size 6 to 8mp are more than enough.

 (Fully prepares himself to be shot down by megapixel maniacs...)

I can't recommend any specifically but I would suggest you try and buy a Sony or a Canon. I have a Sony DSC-P200 digital camera which I bought 2 years ago now, 7MP, 3x Optical Zoom, but most importantly, a fantastic lense.

 Many people go with the megapixels, but it is the lense which takes the photo. The better quality lense, the better the result, and that's why I suggest Canon or Sony. In fact, if you are quick, Canon are currently running a £50 cashback offer on it's digital cameras. So you could look to buy a camera at £180 and claim the cash back.

 The other alternative is spend £130 and just get £50 back to spend on other stuff, like a case, extra memory card, rechargeable batteries, all of which bump up the price and many forget to factor in when budgeting for a camera. In that case, I would highly recommend:

Canon Powershot A570

The information regarding the promotion is here:

Promotion

The cashback form is here:

Cashback Form

 A review is here:

Review

That Steve's digicams website is ace. He uploads actual photos taken by the camera so you can compare like for like with other cameras (I used it heavily when deciding to go for my Sony).

 All in, that's probably what I would do, and purchase a 1 or 2gb Memory Card (loads of places sell these online, I got mine off of ebay for dead cheap), then you cna shoot till your heart's content, or until you think you must have a great picture in one of the 100's you have taken to put up on the wall

There ya go... 2 people recommending the same series of Canon's... can't go wrong

I'm with Dave on the mp - i watched an article (might have been the gadget show) a little while ago that explained that unless you are going to print larger then A4/A3 4-5mp is plenty.

I also need to buy a new camera (my perfectly nice if bulky Kodak was left on Preston trainstation platform along with my ipod and 4gb worth of SD cards .

 I'm now looking for a camera that allows you to switch off the LCD (i also dont use it as i find i shake too much) is relatively water proof (i.e. the Olympus Mju) with a great battery life.

Any ideas? I havent got a budget, but dont want to spend more then £200 tops.

Hi Dave - I havnt decided on which model to buy yet ... tho those suggested by forum members look ideal

canon powershot A630 and sony DSC P200 ...

Rose

I agree with the Canon A comments.

Big advantage I reckon is that they take AA batteries so virtually whereever you are you can keep it going.  Rechargables are cheap as well. 

Pull out twirly screen is great for getting shots from low down for flowers etc and can be turned off it want 

Ever thought about updating your mobile phone!.

Ok..... i have read posts about mobiles, ipods, camera's, gps and all the other toys we like to take into the hills, but no-one yet has mentioned you could save weight and time by combining all your toys in one.

I use a sony ericsson K800 currently ,3.2 mp camera , alarm clock , mp3 , it even with a big enough memory stick will hold a movie to watch for that solo night in the bivi/tent. some are so clever now you can watch eastenders in the middle of nowhere (provided you have a signal.. but it is out there.. mostly)

something i did recently the night before doing helvelyn the next morning , and there deffinately has to be something said for a few pints in the local before trusting yourself up like a sausage on a butchers rack and settling down to a movie you have been meaning to watch and it drowns out the noise of the rave in the field next door   when you plug in the headset.

There are newer models out now such as the N95 and xmas should see an explosion of other 5mp camera handsets on the market.

As said before if your not printing to A4 plus then 3,4,5mp will do nicely, you dont have a viewfinder but a large screen and various shoot modes and digital zoom although you shouldn't overuse this as it will blur the picture, but i have several standard 7x5 shots on my walls from when i have been out with my trusty K800 and they look great.

There are some gps applications for mobiles and the N95 has one built in but the maps are for satnav but hey.... at least you make it to the car park beofre you get lost on the moor.

There are several companies advertising in Trail that produce maps for mobile devices however you must remember most phones opperate on ASSISTED gps, ie. the phone needs to have a signal.

Most modern handsets come with the nescescary software to connect to the PC and move your "3gp" videos (get via torrents) and MP3's about and to move your photo's to the PC although i just use the memory stick in the machine in boots.

Oh............... they make phone calls to!

check out the various options but make sure you talk to someone who knows what there doing and can advise you.

I could get you all to buy from me but that would be naughty

Its a good option that has worked well for me over the years, i only ever use up one pocket on "gadgets" and i only ever worry about having one extra item on my kit list not 5! and the weight saving and not having to have 5 different items to charge or 5 different chargers in the car which only ever comes with one socket and anyone with a dodgy alternator will know plugging anything in could lead to a longer walk than planned.

most of us have phone contracts its just a matter of getting the most from the equipment and in most cases the phones are free , or at least a damn sight cheaper than buying a digital camera,mp3 ipod, mini dvd payer, alarm clock and mini tv seperately!.

last word, if your music mad on the hills or david bailey on drugs then make sure you spend the extra £30 on a spare rechargeable battery.

thanks all for info on the canon series - which is looking favourite at the mo .... with regards to the JL essay on the swiss army phone which does everything but breathe for you, I don't have/use a mobile phone, I like my time on the hills to quiet and being a musician I get enough music during the week, I prefer to admire the beauty of which ever hill/fell I am on to watching a portable dvd, my time off is so precious and I wouldn't want an alarm going off to interrupt this precious time and as for the mini tv idea, yes your so right, I could watch the Jeremy Kyle show while dragging myself up haystacks ... NOT !!!!!!!!!! 

good pitch though 

I'll stick with the canon recommendations me thinks !

cheers all, Rose 

Another vote for the Canon A-series here. At your budget consider the A550 or A570. I have the Canon IXUS 850 IS and it is brilliant for landscapes, i would say as good as my Nikon DSLR for A3 prints actually. Any of the Canons will be approximately a million times better then any mobile phone camera, even the 5mp+ models.

Another vote for the Canon A-series here. At your budget consider the A550 or A570. I have the Canon IXUS 850 IS and it is brilliant for landscapes, i would say as good as my Nikon DSLR for A3 prints actually. Any of the Canons will be approximately a million times better then any mobile phone camera, even the 5mp+ models.

Rose

Even im not heathan enough to watch TV on the move, but i do alot of solo walking and the multimedia entertainment i find usefull when at base camp.

If you don't use a phone thats fair enough, my point was those that do, most can get a lightweight camera built in along with some other usefull items.

once a salesman always a salesman

I hope you find something suitable

Stay safe, Stay outdoors

I bought a Canon A550 from Jessops - they price match with their website and got it for !19.

Comet are selling it for £108 according to their website...

Will be using it this weekend (going to hope and doing the circular aroung mam tor) so I will put a review on...

One day no doubt there will be a mobile phone that does it all, but not yet!

 The Nokia N95 might be a 5mp camera but the actual size of the sensor they squeeze all those mp into is tiny.  The bigger the sensor, the bigger the pixels & the more light each can collect.

 Stick to the Canon for now.